WICHITA STATE (0-0, 0-0 American)

Friday, Aug. 30 (11:00 a.m. CT) vs. Kennesaw State (0-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Kennesaw, Ga. (KSU Convocation Center)
Live Stats // Watch

Saturday, Aug. 31 (10:00 a.m. CT) vs. Indiana (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Kennesaw, Ga. (KSU Convocation Center)
Live Stats

Saturday, Aug. 31 (2:30 p.m. CT) vs. Kennesaw State (0-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Kennesaw, Ga. (KSU Convocation Center)
Live Stats // Watch

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Wichita State begins the 2024 regular season at the Kennesaw State Invitational, taking on host Kennesaw State in a Friday matinee before squaring off with Indiana ahead of a second match with the Owls on Saturday.

The matches against Kennesaw State will be streamed on ESPN+, but the Indiana match will have live stats only.

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SCENE SETTERS:

• Wichita State opens their 49th season as an NCAA volleyball program with a trip to Kennesaw, Georgia for the Kennesaw State Invitational. The Shockers will sandwich a pair of matches against Kennesaw State around a single showdown with Indiana, a team receiving votes in the initial AVCA top 25 poll.
• The Shockers are coming off a 26-8 season in 2023 that culminated in a dominant run to the NIVC championship, the program's first national postseason championship. Wichita State dropped just one set over the course of five NIVC victories, winning four straight at home before sweeping UTEP in El Paso to claim the title.
• The 26 victories were the most in a season for Wichita State since the 2017 club finished 29-4. 2017 was also the last NCAA tournament appearance for the Shockers, who earned a top-16 seed that season and advanced to the second round.
• Wichita State dropped a home exhibition match against [RV] Kansas State on Saturday, falling 29-27, 25-20 and 25-17 against the Wildcats at Charles Koch Arena. The match drew 2,902 fans.
• The Shockers were picked second in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll announced on Monday. Rice was tabbed as the conference's preseason favorite, garnering eight first place votes to Wichita State's four. South Florida was picked third and received the final first place vote. Middle blocker Morgan Stout and setter Izzi Strand were both named preseason all-conference.
• Head coach Chris Lamb enters his 25th season at the helm of the Shockers. Known affectionately as "Lambo," the veteran head coach owns a career record of 508-236, good for a .683 winning percentage and the most wins in the American Athletic Conference.

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LOOKING BACK:

• Wichita State dropped the 2024 exhibition opener against (RV) Kansas State 29-27, 25-20, 25-17 on Saturday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
• The Shockers took a 19-14 lead in the opening set, but Kansas State rallied with an 8-2 run to claim a slim 22-21 advantage. The two teams then traded the next 12 points as Wichita State fought off four set point opportunities, but eventually the Wildcats put the set away via a kill from Meg Brown and a Shocker attack error. 
• K-State pulled away in the middle stages of the second set, turning an 8-7 edge into a 16-10 lead thanks in large part to a spurt from outside hitter Aliyah Carter, who racked up seven kills in the set. The lead swelled to 20-12 before the Shockers responded with a 5-0 run of their own, forcing a K-State timeout. Stout was at the center of the action, notching two kills and two blocks around a Katie Galligan service ace to trim the deficit to 20-17. The Wildcats regrouped out of the timeout, lengthening the lead out to five and eventually clinching the set with another termination from Carter.
• Both teams went deep into the bench for the third set, which saw Kansas State sprint out to a 17-6 lead. Brown poured in six kills on eight swings for the Wildcats, who hit .324 as a team in the third set. WSU got as close as 21-14 following a mini run of three consecutive points, but the Shockers committed a trio of errors to help Kansas State close out the victory.
• Carter led all scorers with 16 kills for KSU, followed by Brown with 12. Leggett paced the Shockers with 10 terminations, while Wilford produced nine and Stout seven. Annalie Heliste, who got the start at libero for WSU, piled up 14 digs, joined in double digits by Wilford (10) and Izzi Strand (10). Strand contributed 26 assists.

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WSU-KENNESAW STATE SERIES:

• The Shockers and Owls have no previous meetings.

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SCOUTING THE OWLS:

• Kennesaw State is in their first season as a member of Conference USA after making the move from the Atlantic Sun. The Owls finished 18-11 (10-6) in 2023, good for fourth place in the ASUN standings; Kennesaw State was bounced in the second round of the conference tournament to bring their season to a close.
• The Owls are led by prolific outside hitter Manu Johnsen, a native of Denmark who set the program's single-season kills record in 2023. Johnsen was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year in 2022 and was a First Team All-Conference honoree a year ago.
• Kennesaw State is picked seventh in the 10-team CUSA preseason poll. Reigning regular season and conference champion Western Kentucky topped the poll.
• Veteran head coach Keith Schunzel is in his 12th season at the helm of the Owls, boasting a 194-110 overall record. Schunzel led Kennesaw State to the program's first NCAA tournament appearance in 2017 and back to the Big Dance in 2019, both times as ASUN champions.

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WSU-INDIANA SERIES:

• The Shockers and Hoosiers have just one previous meeting, a 3-1 Wichita State victory at the SMS Classic in Springfield, Missouri during the 1992 season. Wichita State started 1992 with an 18-2 record before finishing the year 24-8.

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SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS:

• Indiana is receiving votes in the AVCA preseason top 25 poll after a breakout 2023 season that ended with a 21-12 record and 11-9 mark in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers finished sixth in the conference, their best finish since 1999.
• Indiana is picked 10th in the expanded Big Ten preseason poll that now features 18 teams following the additions of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon.
• Star setter Camryn Haworth earned a spot on the preseason All-Big Ten team. The rising senior was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American last season after leading the nation in service aces (73) and pacing the conference in assists (1,247).
• Libero Ramsey Gary was an all-conference and all-region selection after leading the Big Ten in digs as a freshman with 530 ups.
• Head coach Steve Aird enters his seventh season with the Hoosiers in 2024. Aird previously spent four years leading Maryland and was an assistant coach for a pair of national championships while at Penn State. He owns a career record of 135-173 over 10 total seasons as head coach.